Roasted Corn - Tofu Salad

By now most of you would be aware that I am into substituting at least 1 lunch per week for a salad. I usually prefer to do it when I have had a heavy dinner the previous day or even when I am feeling plain lazy. Along with the mandatory veggies, I also try to include some high protein stuff which helps me keep full for a long time. And one of the best vegan sources of protein is Tofu. Though I have ignored this ingredient for a long time now, I hope to gradually make it a part of my weekly menu.

This is a simple salad and I wanted the dressing to be something very light and tangy. The corn reminded me of the roadside vendors selling the roasted delicacy during the monsoons. They usually rub it with a mix of lemon juice, chili powder and black salt. I have used the same dressing along with a spot of mustard sauce and very little jaggery to add a hint of sweetness.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 cup firm tofu (diced)
• 1/2 cup roasted corn on the cob
• 1/2 cup cucumber slices
• 1 medium sized tomato
• shredded lettuce (optional)

For the dressing -

• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 pinch red chili powder
• 2 pinch black salt
• a dot of mustard sauce (optional)/a pinch of chat masala
• 1/4 tsp jaggery
• salt to taste

Preparation - Soak the tofu in hot water for 5 mins. Drain off the water. Allow the tofu to cool.

Using a sharp knife, slice the corn off the cob.

Add all the ingredients for the dressing into a mixing bowl. Whisk together till the jaggery is dissolved.

Soak the cucumber, tomato and lettuce in a bowl of ice cold water to retain their crunch.

Add the tofu, corn, cucumber, lettuce and tomato to the same bowl. Toss together till everything is coated with the dressing.

Serve immediately.

Ada Pradhamam

Ada payasam is a special type of kheer/rice pudding that is served during the 'Onam Sadya'. 'Ada' or rice pasta is the main ingredient and it can be cooked either with milk or water and coconut milk combination. Jaggery is the preferred sweetening agent. Ada is available in most of the stores during
this time of the year and hence one does not need to take pains to prepare it at home.

I myself cooked this rice pudding for the first time. Used the store brought brand 'Double Horse' which is quite a reliable one. And one of my neighbors' gave tips to cook it the right way. I have memories of having it at a friend's house quite a few years back as part of the 'Onam sadya'. Apart from this delicious pudding, I can also remember the ginger-tamarind-jaggery chutney called 'Puli Inji'. Have plans to cook it sometime this week.

Read on for the Palada (ada cooked in milk) Payasam recipe -

Preparation time - 30-35 mins

Ingredients-

• 1/4 cup Ada (Double Horse brand)
• 750 ml whole milk
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp jaggery
• 1 tbsp condensed milk
• 8-10 cashews
• a dozen raisins
• 2 pinch powdered cardamom
• 1 tsp ghee (for frying raisins and cashews)

Preparation -Soak the ada in hot water for 10-15 mins.

Cooking - Bring milk to a boil in a thick bottomed pan. Add the ada, sugar and jaggery.

Allow the milk to reduce to about 1/3. The ada would have become soft (cooked) and rose to the surface by this time.

Fry the raisins and cashews in a separate vessel and add to the pudding.

Finally add the condensed milk and boil for 3-4 mins. Remove from flame and mix in the cardamom powder.

Serve warm or chilled.

Oriyarasoi Wishes All its readers a Happy Thiruonam!!!

Thiruonam is the most important day of the Onam celebrations starting from 6th Sept this year. It is believed that during the four days of Onam festival, the legendary King Mahabali visits his subjects. Malayalis prepare floral carpets called 'Ona-Pookkalam' and lay out a sumptuous meal called the 'Onam sadya' to welcome Mahabali. Among the 20-plus lip-smacking vegetarian dishes traditionally served on a plantian leaf, the 'Ada payasam or Ada pradhamam' occupies a premium position.

[Recipe to follow shortly]

Tomato Kasundi

When I first heard about it on the latest season of Masterchef Australia Season 6, my salivary glands went on a overdrive. The red oozing out of the burgers was too much to resist. I decided to Google the recipe and voila....there are dozens of Tomato Kasundi recipes floating around in the blogosphere. And each version happened to be quite different from the other. I finally settled for my own version ( inspired by the Odia Tomato-Besara ). Though it takes some time and effort, the investment is well worth it !! This versatile sauce can be had with white rice, slathered over bread/wraps and even as a hot dip for all kinds of fritters.

While I have used mustard powder/one can just use whole mustard in the tempering. The mustard introduces a slightly bitter note along with the heat but some varieties can be quite bitter. Yellow mustard is a safe bet for folks who can not accustomed to the mustard-y taste/flavour.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

• 5 medium sized ripe tomatoes
• 4-5 garlic flakes
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• a pinch of cumin powder
• 4 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 2 tsp powdered jaggery
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1-2 green chili 
• salt to taste

Preparation - Grind the mustard into a fine powder.

Grate the ginger and garlic.

Put the tomatoes in boiling water for 5-6 mins. Remove and wash under running water. Peel and chop them.

Take all the ingredients (except oil) in a mixing bowl and toss together.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the green chili and fry till it starts to turn brown. This would release its heat and flavor into the oil.

Add the contents of the mixing bowl and allow to cook on medium heat.

Once the water evaporates and the oil starts to separate into another layer, it is done.

Allow to cool down before storing it in disinfected bottles. Stays good in the fridge up to 6 months to 1 year.

Sajana Sagaa Kharada (Drumstick leaves Curry)

Drumstick leaves or 'sajana sagaa' as we call it in Odisha happens to be one of my favorite greens. Make into a simple stir fry or cook it with dal and veggies, it tastes awesome. While it has a slightly bitter taste but the aroma is sure to make one hungry. Drumstick leaves and flowers are of great value as sources of carotene, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C. According to Ayurvedic texts, these leaves have the potential to cure almost 300 types of ailments. With 90 nutrients and 46 antioxidants, these small leaves literally pack a punch. They are usually given as a tonic to young children, pregnant women and lactating mothers to keep them healthy.

I had been missing it for a long time since I never see it being sold in the local vegetable shops/stores in Bangalore. That's why I was overjoyed to find a thelawala selling the greens near my building. I quickly purchased a bundle at rupees 10.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

• 5 cups of drumstick leaves
• 1/2 cup diced pumpkin
• 1/2 cup diced potato
• few cubes of raw banana
• 1 medium sized onion (chopped into thin long slices)
• 5-6 garlic flakes
• 1/4 cup lightly roasted moong dal/yellow lentil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1-2 dry red chillis
• 3 tsp oil
• 2 pinch turmeric
• salt to taste
• 7-8 fried boris for garnishing

Preparation - Pluck the drumstick leaves from the stem while carefully checking for any insects/eggs.
Wash thoroughly under running water. Keep aside for the water to drain

Cooking - Transfer the lentils along with pumpkin, potato, raw banana, salt and turmeric to a pressure cooker. Add 2/3 cup water and cook for 1 whistle on medium flame. Keep aside for steam to escape.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and broken red chilis followed by the onions. Fry till onion turns translucent.

Add the drumstick leaves and stir fry on medium high for 4 mins. Now add the contents of the wok, mix together and allow to cook for another 5-6 mins. Check if the greens are cooked else cook for 2-3 mins more.

Add the crushed garlic and the crushed bori. Remove from flame.

Serve hot with white rice and dal.

Note - In Western Odisha, a similar dish is prepared but without the veggies and the badi.

Avocado-Egg Whites Salad

A recent episode of 'Agents of shield' on Star World had agents May and Skye discussing their feelings about Ward's betrayal. On being asked why she did not feel any anger, May replied that though she felt very angry with Ward, she would not waste her energies on throwing a tantrum and would rather channelize it and wait to take down her adversary. It just made me think how many of us would do something like that. Most of us are ready to throw a fit and get into confrontations even at a perceived slight. And finally we end up looking stupid. Maybe it is something I will try to implement in my personal life.

Today's recipe is a delicious and healthy salad for the weight watchers !! The whites are a great source of protein and the avocado is full of healthy fats. One can also add some crunchy lettuce , celery or cucumber to the salad to make it more filling. To make a complete meal, sandwich some between 2 slices of wholegrain bread or have it wrapped in a tortilla/quesadilla. Read on  -

Preparation Time - 12 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 ripe avocado
• 2 egg whites ( boiled and separated from the yolks )
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp mustard sauce
• freshly ground pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation - Boil the eggs for 10-12 mins. Remove from flame and allow to cool. Remove the shells and separate the whites.

Cut the onion into thin slices and marinate for a while with the vinegar and salt.

Halve the avocado and scoop out the flesh. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustard sauce, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Mash together (almost to the consistency of a Guacamole).

Add the chopped/lightly mashed egg whites and onions (discard any liquid though). Mix gently.

Chill for 20 mins before serving.

Kurkuri Bhindi

I have been quite occupied over the last week doing cleaning, rearranging furniture and other household activities. That left me very less time to cook lunch for myself. Hence I would mostly end up doing simple stir-fries (bhaji) which even my kid liked to have with his khichidi . The only day I made rice and dal for lunch, I only had about a dozen ladies fingers sitting in the fridge. As I had cleaned out the fridge the previous day, I did not get time to stock up on the veggies. Being in the mood for something chatpata, I quickly decided to make some crispy ladies finger fries. Even my son is fond of this vegetable so i first marinated it with minimum spice/heat. Keeping aside some of the fries, I drizzled mine with more chilli powder and amchur. Totally lip-smacking dish.

While Kurkuri Bhindi is actually a Rajasthani recipe which is much more flavorsome, mine is just a simplified version of it. Read on for this simple recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

• 12-14 ladies fingers/okra
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp amchur/chaat masala
• 1 tsp besan
• 1/2 tsp rice flour
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying
• 2 pinch black pepper powder (my special addition)

Preparation - Slit the ladies finger lengthwise and cut into smaller 2 inch long sections ( mine were small so i kept it as such ).

Sprinkle all the spices/masalas over the ladies finger and toss together to coat evenly. Keep aside for 10 mins.

Add the besan and rice flour and mix once again.

Cooking - Heat sufficient oil in wok or deep vessel. Add the ladies finger in batches and fry till they become crispy.

Serve hot as it is or garnished with lemon juice, coriander leaves and tomato slices.

Potato Sandwich ( With Honey-Mustard-Mayo sauce)

An easy sandwich thrown together in a jiffy when I am not in the mood to cook. That is how I would describe this. Some boiled potato sitting in the fridge was the starting point. Seasoning it with salt and pepper and layering with some onion and tomato slices, I realized that it was missing that oomph thing. Raided the fridge once again and came up with a bottle of mayo, mustard sauce and a Tabasco sauce. Did not want any tomato ketchup as I was anyways using fresh tomatoes. Decided to go ahead with a mayonnaise-mustard sauce combo but decided to sweeten things a bit as it tasted a bit too tart. Added a spoonful of honey which beautifully balanced the flavours of the sauce. Giving in to my cravings, add some cheese to the sandwich and I had the ultimate comfort food at hand.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins ( as I had the boiled potatoes at hand )

Ingredients -

• 3 slices of sandwich bread
• 1/2 grated boiled potato
• a few slices of onion
• a few slices of tomato
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp mustard sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 3 tbsp grated cheese
• freshly ground pepper
• salt to taste

Preparation - Lightly toast the bread slices.

Mix the mayo, mustard sauce and honey in a bowl.

Season the grated potato with some salt and pepper.

Take one bread slice. Cover it with the mayo-mustard-honey sauce and then layer the potato over it. Cover it with another slice. Place the onion and tomato slices over it. Sprinkle grated cheese, salt and pepper. Close with the last slice. Gently press and cut diagonally with a sharp knife.

Serve immediately ( or cover tightly with a foil wrap and put in the kids lunch box ).

Milkmaid Coconut Laddoo

After the Ganapati festivities were over, I realized that I had quite a bit of leftover coconut in the fridge. But I was feeling a little bored of eating dosa/idli chutney every other day. And not being too fond of desiccated coconut, preserving it for later use was hardly an option. Then I remembered my 'bua' or father's sister making these Milkmaid laddoos during my childhood days. Those were the days of DD and there were hardly any cookery shows on the telly. She used to patiently note down the recipes from magazines or any other books if she found them interesting. And boy.....she had an amazing repertoire of recipes. I wondered what she would have done if she had the power of the internet at her disposal.

Coming back to the recipe, these laddoos are as simple as it can get. Made with just two ingredients, they are just plain addictive. Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 15-20 mins

Ingredients -

• 3 cups grated coconut
• 1 cup milkmaid (or any other condensed milk) (approx)
• 1/2 cup grated coconut for rolling the laddoos (optional)

Cooking -  Heat a wok. Add the grated coconut and milkmaid. Keep stirring continuously till the mass begins to leave the sides of the wok. Remove and keep aside till it is bearable to touch.

Take small portions and shape into balls. Sprinkle the grated coconut on a plate or a working surface. Roll the balls lightly over the coconut. Keep in the fridge for half an hour to set.

Serve cold or at room temperature.


Note - These stay fresh up to one week when refrigerated.

Matar Paneer (Without onion and garlic)

Sometimes fine recipes are born purely out of need. This Ganesh Chaturthi my husband wanted something different from the puri-buta dali combo that is the staple dinner on festival days. With it being a no onion - no garlic day, I was hard pressed for choice. Then I zeroed in on this 'Matar-Paneer' recipe that I had jotted down in my notebook. It is a simple one with a combination of sweet, sour and spicy flavours without being too rich.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 200 gm Paneer cubes 
• 1 1/2 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 big tomato 
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 Kashmiri chili
• 5-6 almonds
• 7-8 cashews
• 10-12 raisins
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 green cardamom (powdered)
• 1 1/2 tbsp Kasuri methi
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• a pinch garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp honey
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp butter

Preparation - Chop the tomato and transfer into a cooker. Add the raisins, cashews, almonds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, whole red chili and cumin seeds along with a little salt. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook for 2-3 whistles on medium flame.

Keep aside for steam to escape. Once the steam escapes, peel the almonds. Drain the water ( but do not throw it ) and transfer all the contents of the pressure cooker to a blender. Buzz till you get a smooth paste.

If using frozen peas, thaw them.

Add the panner cubes to a bowl of hot water.

Cooking - Heat the butter in a wok. Add the ground tomato-masala paste along with coriander powder, chili powder and garam masala. Rub the Kasuri methi between your palms to warm it a bit before adding to the wok.

Cook for 5-6 mins before adding the paneer cubes and green peas. Add about 1 cup hot water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 mins.

Add the honey and remove from flame.

Serve hot with puris/phulkas.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to All!!!

Vakratunda mahakaya surya koti samaprabha
nirvighnam kurume deva sarva karyeshu sarvada

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!! May Lord Ganesh save us from all evils and be our guiding light forever !

Today's special is the Chuda Ghasa- Dalma combo, a popular breakfast option in Odisha. Its popularity can be gauged by the fact that it has even got still more localized versions like Chuda Kadamba-Dalma (Chandanpur) and Chuda Ghasa-Buta Dalma (Puri).

Check the given links for the recipes -

Chuda Ghasa
Dalma